Milestones (more info, 1109 Hamilton Street, 604-684-9111) is a trendy chain restaurant which offers a selection of westcoast and American cuisine. The downtown Vancouver Yaletown location has been recently renovated in a post-modern/minimalist style with exposed wooden ceiling beams, halogen spot lighting, comfortable cushion booth seating, a brand new sound system and wide screen televisions. Price for entrees lies in the $15 to 20 range, and the restaurant also has an extensive drink menu. Service is generally excellent: the staff are personable and attentive. I ordered the Portobello Mushroom Chicken which was an inventive dish (pictured below, $16.95) that featured chopped portobello mushrooms with chicken cooked in olive oil served over a capellini pasta.

Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant (more photos, 20-1128 West Broadway, Vancouver, phone 604-677-0426) is one of the best all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants in Vancouver, if you enjoy the more exotic sushi creations. The menu has pretty much everything you can find at various all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurants anywhere in Vancouver, plus some unique items that are hard to find at other places. If you’re adventurous be sure to try the lobster sushi, abalone sushi, shark fin sushi, prawn tempura, unlimited raw oysters, salmon roe sushi, tuna belly, mackerel, soft shell crab, oyster motoyaki, seafood cones, or unlimited sashimi (many varieties). Price for an all-you-can-eat dinner is $22.95, which is worth it if you order more of the expensive items. Be sure to try the cold mango pudding for dessert.

Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar (web site, 1079 Mainland Street, Vancouver, phone 604-602-0835) is a trendy, upscale place to enjoy “Westcoast regional” cuisine – a kind of food rooted in the western tradition with influences from other cultures. Their signature dish is Spaghetti with Kobe Beef Meatballs, which I must say is not your ordinary spaghetti and meatballs. The spaghetti is done in a light cream sauce with black truffle shavings on top. The meatballs are liberally garnished with fresh herbs and spices that make them simply irresistible. ($25, pictured below)  We also tried the Satay Platter ($23, pictured below) which included a big selection of little delicious grilled items such as the lamb, octopus, chicken, beef, salmon, and prawns.